With the last remnants of Pittsburgh snow still melting, the early birds at Pittsburgh Camerata welcomed the first signs of spring in "A Language of Flowers" at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Oakmont on Sunday.

More than just a fragrant bower of song, artistic director Rebecca Rollett's artful thematic device embraced life and death, along with love and loss, in an a cappella concert full of hidden riches.

The Camerata opened confidently with a trio of selections, including the lovely vocal cascade in John Ward's "Upon a Bank With Roses," in which they established an organic blend of voices, supported by great attention to pitch and diction.

That musical approach transferred well to the melodic simplicity of Brahms' Sieben Lieder, although the emotional colors could have been more vibrant.

It was easy to see that the choir felt more at home in early music pieces such as Jacobus Clemens non Papa's "Ego flos campi" and three 15th-century motets, in which the group's singular clarity, perhaps the best of the area's vocal ensembles, was allowed to soar.

Rollett saved the extraordinarily beautiful "Three Flower Songs" by Eric Whitacre for last. Despite some tentativeness in the risky finale of the virtuosic "With a Lily in Your Hand," the slowly unfolding textures, much like an aromatic musical bouquet, proved compelling.

The concert will be repeated at 8 p.m. Saturday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Highland Park. Tickets: $15; $6 for students. Call 412-421-5884 or go to www.pittsburghcamerata.org.

-- Review by Jane Vranish,

Post-Gazette Staff Writer